Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-12-01
MEXICAN HAMMOCKS.
How They Are Made by the Yucatan In
dams Out Of CactS< Fiber.

MEXICAN HAMMOCkS.
How They Are Made by the Yucatan In.
dams Out Of Cacts~ Fiber.
With couple of stsaight poles.
homemade shuttle. ihin slab of ma
tive zapoli wool, and pile of heni-
quen leaves. the Indian of Yucatan is
prepared to accept contracts for hansl
mocks by the piece. dozen or hundred.
The poles are placed a certain distance
apart. according to the length of the
hammock to be made. The thin
slab of wood is rapidly fashioned with
the aid of sharp machette. into a
tonkas, or stripper BY the aid of this
tonkas the fiber of the thick. fleshy
heniIucn leaf. which is species of
cactus. is denuded of its covering. and
a wisp of hatchkil. or raspcd fiber, is
the result.
The hatchkil is blcached in the sun.
and then becomes sOskil. These are
then separated into small heaps. corr
tanning about the same number Of
fibers. When the entire supply OH
hand Is thus laid out. tho operator
takes out the fibers, and with dex-
ferrous roll between the palm of the
hand and the knee. transforms them
into heavy cords, or kuns, as the na.
tives call them.
OIt of this cord the hammocks are
made. The cord is wound around the
two poles which have been planted in
the ground and the work is turned
over to the women. They. with their
wide shuttles. accomplish the rest of
the task in rem arkably rapid and
thorough manner. When pile has
accumulated the contractor comes
around and gathers them up.
The relations between the operator
and contractor arc very peculiar and
would exist nowhere else in the world
In order to get the hammocks neces-
sary for his trade the contractor must
often pay for them months IN advance,
as it is only when the natives owe
money that they will consent to work.
In order to get chance to owe this
money the native will promise to fur
nish the contractor whom he knows.
with number of hammOcks at GER
tain time if the contractor will advance
a sum of money. On this money the
entcrprising native can liv, in idlencss
for several months. The contractor
agrees to this. If he doesn't he can
get no hammOcks But once the ma
tive has bound himself to supply the
goods they will be forthcoming at the
time stipulated. Should death inter-
vene his relatives perform the con-
tract.
But this advance system is sore
drain on the contractor. who is rarely
a person of large capital. He must of
necessity accommodate the natives and
he needs outside help to do so. This
help he obtains in the shape of adj
vances from the merchants in Merida.
to whom he turns over the hammocks
he secures at considerable advance
over the amount they have cost him.
These Merida merchants in turn send
the goods to their New York CORE
spOndenfs.
The hammocks are carefully sorted
in Merida before they are baled for
shipment to the United States. which
absorbs almost the entire production.
Last year it amounted TO nearly $jO,-
600. All the districts of Yucatan pro-
duce greater or lesser quantity of /
ha mmocks. but the TixcocO district 4 |
by far the largest producer. sending
out. it is calculated. every year as
many as the rest Of the State put to-
gether. The finest specimens of the
art, however, come |
from Chemax. But few of these ever
find their way to the United States.
They are SO eagerly sought after at
home that there is no necessity for
them away. especially as good
prices are realized on the ground -
n T. Erening Sun.